It was reported by the New York Times earlier today that Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was charged on Thursday with groping a female aide’s breast inside the Executive Mansion “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Albany City Court.
The complaint was based on the account of one of the dozen or so women whose accusations of sexual harassment against Mr. Cuomo formed the basis of a state attorney general’s report that eventually led to his resignation in August.
For Mr. Cuomo, the misdemeanor complaint was a serious and potentially devastating development, as he continues to fight the allegations and attempts to discredit the report. It also served as a stunning chapter in the political demise of a man who dominated state politics for a decade, seemed on a glide path to a fourth term and, less than a year ago, was hailed as a national hero of the coronavirus pandemic.
CNBC went on to report that the filing of that complaint in Albany City Court comes two months after Cuomo resigned in disgrace following accusations of sexual harassment against the three-term Democrat by nearly a dozen women, detailed in a damning report issued by state Attorney General Letitia James.
The city court issued a summons for Cuomo to appear in that court on the afternoon of Nov. 17, according to a press release issued Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple Sr, whose investigator signed the criminal complaint.
The complaint says that Cuomo, 63, intentionally, “and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim …. and onto her intimate body part.′
New York Times went on to report that the evidence against Mr. Cuomo, the complaint said, includes a text message from his cellphone, State Police Blackberry PIN messages, State Police aviation records for Dec. 7 and swipe-card entry records from the State Capitol.
Mr. Cuomo would not be added to the sex offender registry even if convicted of the misdemeanor. The charge of forcible touching would require the victim to be younger than 18 for an offender to be listed on the registry, and Ms. Commisso was an adult when the incident occurred.
Mr. Cuomo and Ms. Glavin have repeatedly denied that he inappropriately touched Ms. Commisso, who worked as an executive assistant, and have repeatedly cast doubt on her allegations.
Ms. Commisso filed a complaint against Mr. Cuomo with the Albany County sheriff’s office in August. A subsequent investigation led to the criminal charge, with the misdemeanor complaint signed by an investigator from the sheriff’s office, Amy Kowalski.
The criminal complaint said Mr. Cuomo did “intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim and onto her intimate body part.”
Ms. Commisso did not respond to a call or a text, and a lawyer representing her could not immediately be reached for comment.
